Managers in legal departments probably feel little concern about law schools and their preparation of graduates

A piece in the NYSBA J., Sept. 2010 at 22, by a Dean at Pace Law School considers how well law schools prepare students for the real world of practicing law. Under the topic “Market Pressure Exposes Problems,” she asserts that corporate clients exert some pressure on law schools. “They not only pressure their outside counsel, they are mindful of law schools’ role in the legal services supply chain and have cautioned that legal educators should be thinking more about the ultimate consumer.” Her only citation is to an in-house lawyer who spoke at a recent conference on legal education.

While possibly true that those who hire lawyers into law departments regret the lack of practical education among many of those new lawyers, I doubt that general counsel lose sleep over the adequacy of law school courses and preparation. There are bigger minnows to fry.